


The Subterfuge Files

by acoolgirl



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Voldemort, Auror Partners, Crime Fighting, F/M, Mystery, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-22
Updated: 2017-03-18
Packaged: 2018-09-11 02:02:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 18,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8949382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/acoolgirl/pseuds/acoolgirl
Summary: Aurors Draco Malfoy and Luna Lovegood are well on their way to becoming one of the best partners to have emerged from their graduating class, but when an ominous case is opened to them, will a dark past threaten their chance of a happy future?





	1. Got your back.

Draco lay crouched behind the large wooden crates, trying to take in large gulps of air as silently as possible. He had lost visual of Lovegood, which meant a new strategy was necessary. There had been five men in total; he and Lovegood individually had taken down two of them, and the remaining three were definitely vengeful.

Had he not been in a life threatening situation, he would have smiled at how he should be more careful over what he wished for.

* * *

_One hour earlier_

He and Lovegood were nearly complete with their patrol. As was typical, they hadn't come across anything that broke Ministry law. All in all, it had been a pretty boring night, with his only source of entertainment Lovegood's inane chatter.

He sighed and leaned the arm he wasn't using to steer with heavily on the door, resting his face in the cup of his hand. It was a balmy summer night, and it seemed that the residents of London were induced by that laziness that always came with the season, for the streets were near empty.

Draco knew he should be thankful that he wasn't constantly exposed to danger, but a little excitement once in and a while would have been wholly appreciated.

Even Lovegood had grown quiet, which Draco knew meant she was tired.

"Want to grab some coffee on the way back, Lovegood?" he asked, remembering that they still had to go back and write a report on their quiet night.

She smiled at him, she had been the one that had gotten him hooked on the Muggle drink (in his defense, it didn't have nearly as many of the side effects _Pepper Up_ had).

She was about to reply to him when she suddenly sat up straight in her seat.

"Look Draco," she spoke quietly. His gaze followed to where her finger was pointing, and saw  at the end of the pier was what looked like an abandoned warehouse.  He scrutinized it closely, but didn't spotted anything amiss.

"Right above the fourth window to the left, you'll see a faint shimmer," Luna patiently explained to him. Listening to her instructions, he caught sight of what she had so easily spotted: the warehouse was magically warded.

"This warehouse isn't a registered ward, right?" He asked her, who was already looking through an official Ministry scroll that listed all registered wards within this jurisdiction.

She looked up at him and gave him her dreamy smile, "It isn't."

Breaking the wards had proven to be simple enough, or perhaps Draco was just that extremely adept at spell breaking. Anyways, it was only supposed to be a simple inquiry and warning visit to whomever had placed the wards, but of course, in the life of an Auror, things are never simple.

The second the wards had fallen, a large balding man had apparated before them, wand already drawn in dueling position.

"State your purpose," he spat out at them.  He had a thick Slavic accent.

Draco's eyes narrowed, his own wand also raised to meet the man's pose defiantly.

"Hullo," Lovegood greeted him, as if they were on a social visit, "We're from the Ministry, and we couldn't help but notice that this location has an unregistered ward, do you mind if we look around?"

The balding man had looked at her for several moments before giving her a large smile, revealing a set of extremely yellow teeth.

"Of course," he told her politely. As he turned his back to them to open the large wooden doors-it was magically encrypted as Draco had assumed, it could have taken him a while decoding it, Draco had glanced over at Lovegood and gave her a small smirk.

The second the doors opened, Draco took aim and shouted, "Expelliarmus!"

Lovegood caught the flying wand easily, and Draco had already come up behind the man, his wand jutting into his neck threateningly.

"H-how dare you!" the man bellowed, clearly enraged.

"Yeah yeah," Draco rolled his eyes at his indignation and pushed him forward, one hand clutching the back of his robes tightly.

He felt rather than saw Lovegood take flank behind him. With her behind him he didn't have to worry about any spells hitting him.

"We have one of your men," Draco called out to the looming darkness within the old building, "The quicker your reveal yourselves, the quicker this will be over."

The light coming from Lovegood's wand didn't give him much to go by, but he could make out the warehouse was filled with old wooden crates, which didn't make much sense, considering it was no longer in use. The moonlight filtering in from the large windows of the east wall illuminated all the dust moors that were floating, and his lungs constricted uncomfortably at the overwhelming stench of mildew. So though the warehouse was in use, it still smelled like _disuse_ , which meant that whoever was storing whatever here had begun only recently.

"I am the only one here!" the man in his custody shouted, "You fucking Auror's think you can just come and-"

The man's rant was cut short by a burst of scarlet light.

"Protego!" Lovegood called out from behind him, and Draco watched as the spell rebounded when it hit her perfect shield that she had cast upon him.

Draco looked up from where the spell had come from and saw another man crouching on a beam that stretched across from one wall to the ceiling at a slant.

"They've already seen too much Mikhail! Stop stalling and take them down!" the man from above shouted down.

Draco immediately stunned the man in his grasp while Lovegood fired a perfectly aimed hex at the man above them. He only managed to dodge her spells twice before he was hit, but as she was levitating him down safety, a curse from another direction was cast straight at Lovegood. Knowing she would not release the levitating charm on the man she was lowering because it would seriously hurt him, Draco shouted, "Protego!"

He was barely able to take in the satisfaction of watching Lovegood being protected by his spell when he was hit by a strong stinging hex right in the square of his back.

He fell to his knees, clutching at the dirt floor in pain.

"Draco!" Lovegood gasped. She moved towards him, but immediately had to jump back from a narrowly missed spell.

* * *

_Current time_

He and Lovegood had managed to draw them all out from their hiding spots, which only slightly evened the playing field.

Draco couldn't help but frown in worry, it had been some time since he last heard Lovegood's voice, and began to fear that she may be injured or even....

His train of thought had to be interrupted when he caught visual of another man, this one small and portly, springing from his spot behind the crate he shouted, " _Stupefy!_ "

The man went down the same time Draco had to duck from another spell, and once more Draco found himself in the middle of an all out brawl.

There were only two men left, which meant they were evenly matched, but as Draco shot spells and dodged curses, Lovegood still did not make an appearance, which addled Draco's mind with anxiety, despite how much adrenaline was pounding through his veins.

The men had backed him into a corner, he foolishly realized too late. They were decently skilled wizards, and however talented he was, Draco was growing tired, which meant both his spells and dodging were growing sloppy.

Just as he was about to fire back one more spell, however, he barely made out a silvery voice before suddenly, the large stacks of crates on either sides of his assailants crashed forward, effectively entrapping them and knocking them out by sheer force.

Hesitantly lowering his wand, he watched as Lovegood made her way around a crate. She was so small that it completely hid her even if she was standing up.

Coming to stand underneath a panel of moonlight she gave him an apologetic smile, "I'm terribly sorry about leaving you in the open like that Draco, but I had needed you to lead them to this spot."

Draco nodded, still panting from his excursions. He was about to say something further when she stepped up right in front of him and gently placed a hand on his cheek, making Draco forget completely what he had been thinking of.

"You're bleeding," she murmured, before raising her wand to heal the incision. Truthfully, Draco hadn't even realized he had been hurt, he was so involved in the battle, but he wasn't complaining, Lovegood's healing spell came with an indescribably soothing feeling that he had never experienced with any other healer.

He hadn't even realized his eyes had closed until he snapped them open again, remembering where he was, and more importantly, _who_ he was with.

Stepping back from her touch, he pulled out magic binding robe from his robes, "I'll take care of the goons," he told her, crouching down to remove the boxes on top of mentioned men, "You look and see what they're storing."

"Okay!" she replied cheerily. Draco rolled his eyes.

About twenty minutes later two armored trucks had arrived from the Auror department. One to transport the captured criminals to the proper detention facility, and the second to secure all the magically tampered narcotics they had seized.

He was familiar with both drivers, Crabbe and Goyle. They had actually been a part of his and Lovegood's training class,  but both failed to pass the rigorous requirements required in the difficult three years it took to become an Auror, and instead became transporters for the ministry. Draco knew well of their mental capabilities, and found the job entirely appropriate for them.

"Big bust, eh Malfoy?" Crabbe guffawed, elbowing his arm lightly, when they were finally done loading everything up.

"Well of course Crabbe," Goyle butted in, never one to be outdone in ass-kissing, "We're looking at the future Auror in-chief here."

Draco smirked in satisfaction. Who didn't like a little ego stroking?  He was about to agree with them when Crabbe continued.

"Well of course he's gonna go far, " Crabbe said snickering, "The fact that he can do his work and not just constantly shag his partner is proof enough that he's ready to be the chief."

Goyle joined him in his cackling, "Have you seen her tits? Bet they taste as sweet as they look!"

" _Enough_ ," Draco snarled, and both men instantly silenced. There were times still when he thought that Lovegood had a few screws lose, but in the short time they had worked together, she had earned nothing but respect from him. She may be a bit wacky, but she was a damn good Auror; if nothing, tonight had been proof of that. "Go on and do your jobs, you imbeciles."

They both bade him a quick goodbye, obviously still unsure what they had said to incur his wrath. Lovegood decided at that moment to reappear; she had been searching the perimeter for any further evidence.

"Oh, goodbye Craig, goodbye Vincent!" she called out, waving to them as if they were school friends.

He grabbed her waving wrist and brought it down, still annoyed at how the two men had been speaking so vulgarly about his partner, "Don't wave, they're pigs."

Luna blinked and titled her head, an ocean breeze gliding through some of the hairs that had escaped her braid, "Hermoine says all men are."

Draco snorted. "Most," he corrected.

* * *

_3 hours later_

Draco stretched his arms tiredly above him. They had finally finished writing their eventful report, which had taken longer than expected. (Turns out when you actually stop a crime, you have to answer a lot more questions.)

Even Lovegood's dreamy eyes were dreamier than ever, and when she rose from her desk, it was in slow lethargic movements. Draco took this moment to take in closely what his partner was wearing, since it was previously hidden beneath her work robes. Surprisingly enough, she wasn't dressed eccentrically today, instead in simple Muggle jeans with white sneakers and a purple blouse. She wasn't even wearing weird jewelry, which Draco suddenly realized, was what he felt had been missing when he first saw her that day.

"Something off, Lovegood?" he asked as he held open the door of their shared office space. He told himself that the only reason he was asking was because if Lovegood wasn't at her 100%, that left him vulnerable on the field.

Lovegood gave him a dreamy smile. "Oh no I'm fine, just a bit tired," she said in a serene voice. "I've just been very busy at home, helping Daddy pack and all."

Right, he vaguely recalled her telling him that her father was retiring and would spend the rest of his days traveling in search of creatures that don't exist.

They had reached the floo departure area by this time, "Make sure to get some rest, a sleepy partner is just as good as no partner," he told her. Not waiting for a response from her, he picked up some powder and entered the flames.

He stepped out a minute later into the apartment he and Potter shared. A month into his Auror training, Draco had decided that it was high time he move out of his parent's manor, and took up in a nice flat in downtown London. Draco had no issues with money, what with his steady Auror salary and the fact that his father was one of the richest men in the wizarding world, but he had not counted on how...well, _boring_ it would be, living alone.

So when Potter complained about his living arrangements, Draco quite easily offered him half his flat, at a more than reasonable price.

Potter was sitting in front of the television, eating what was probably microwavable dinner. In his famished state that sounded wonderful.

"Long night Malfoy?" Potter called to him as Draco trudged into their kitchen unit.

"Busted 100 kilograms of magical narcotics," he shot back, completely smug, despite his fatigue.

" _100?"_ Potter asked incredulously from his spot on the couch. His TV dinner now warmed, Draco made his way to join him. He was watching some late night comedy skit.

"Yeah, took down 5 huge guys too," he said, still smug, as he dug into his food. They really needed to get a cooking elf.

"Was Luna ok?" Potter asked, no longer paying attention to the TV.

"Truly Potter, your concern for my well-being is so touching," Draco said sarcastically. "She's fine, of course."

Potter rolled his eyes, "If anything had happened to you, you would have been complaining about it before you even left the fireplace."

"That is not true!" he exclaimed indignantly. "There was a huge gash on my face that Lovegood had to heal."

"Pfft, gash? Probably a paper cut," Potter quipped, turning his attention back to the TV.

Deciding he was too tired to hex him, Draco also ignored him and they finished their meals in companiable silence.

"Oh remember, we have our bi-weekly department meeting tomorrow."

Draco groaned. Auror's worked on a cyclical schedule, since there had to be a working Auror at all times. This meant each Auror pair had their own timings of when they reported for work and when they left, which rotated every two weeks. At the end of two weeks, they would have a meeting with the chief to go over any important developments and to receive their new work hours.

The system worked out all fine and good until you were landed a late night shift as he and Lovegood had, which meant that even though you got off at 2:30 a.m., you still had to report to the meeting at 8 a.m.

"Bloody hell Potter, why are you still awake then?" he snapped, jealous that his friend had the opportunity to sleep, and mad that he didn't take it when it was all Draco wanted at the moment.

Potter shrugged sheepishly, "No reason."

What the fuck ever. He was going to sleep, and he wasn't going to waste any more of his precious time babying Potter.


	2. Mind Games

The next morning Draco had no choice but to take some _Pepper Up_. He and Potter and flooed together to the Ministry, and were making their way when Longbottom joined them.

"Morning fellas," he greeted warmly. Sniveling fool as he as at times, Draco genuinely liked Longbottom, he was one of those people who were always in a good mood.

Potter repeated his morning back to him while Draco merely nodded.

There were three divisions within the Auror office. There were trainees, first-class Aurors, and second-class Auror's. Trainees were trained by various second-class Aurors, and once graduated, first-class Auror's were paired together until they had achieved enough merit (or seniority, whichever came first) to become a second-class Auror. One of the benefits of reaching the second class was that there weren't any more mandated meetings.

So when he walked into the conference room, he was met with all the faces of the men and women he had trained along with. Many of which were his good friends. As was unwritten protocol, Draco made his way to sit next to his partner,  who was seated next to Granger.

There was only one seat open next to Lovegood as it was the end of the row, and Draco was just about to reach it, when from seemingly out of nowhere, Potter materialized and sat down in it.

Draco blinked. Before he could snap at Potter to get out of his seat, Longbottom spoke up.

"Actually Harry, I was... wondering if _I_ could sit next to Luna."

Oh Merlin no.

Potter shifted uncomfortably, "Why don't you go sit next to Hannah, she's your partner after all."

Potter's own partner, Weasley, was seated between Granger and her partner Brown. The red head was trying desperately to amuse Granger with some lame joke, too caught up in his efforts to realize she was watching Potter a bit too closely. Brown, however, was laughing a bit too loudly at his jokes, all at the wrong places.

Draco pinched the bridge of his nose, realizing several things at once. It seemed that Weasley liked Granger, Brown liked Weasley, Granger liked Potter- Weasley's best friend, who liked Lovegood, who also happened to be liked by Longbottom, who everyone knew was liked by Abbott.

How in Merlin's name did he get caught in this love fucking polygon.

"Actually, if it's alright with you both, I want Draco to sit next to me," Luna said sweetly, snapping Draco out of his despair.

"You heard the lady," he said smugly, a tiny part of him pleased she had chosen him.

Gingerly, Potter rose from his seat next to Lovegood and both he and Longbottom dejectedly sat elsewhere.

Collapsing into his chair Draco idly wondered what the hell was taking Dumbledore so long. Lovegood, acting as if one of the most awkward confrontations to happen in the class 1 division of the Auror office never occurred gave Draco a smile, "How was your morning Draco?"

"Fine," he snapped, not in the mood to deal with her. Honestly, what did Potter _and_ Longbottom _see_ in her? Fine, he could admit that Luna was actually conventionally attractive, especially when she wasn't dressed like a loon- but the girl believed in bloody Nargles for Merlin's sake! The rational part of him that wasn't completely annoyed at the moment told him that perhaps they saw what he witnessed first- hand every day.  Draco shook that thought out of his mind, Lovegood may be a good Auror, but she would be a terrible girlfriend, this he was sure of.

"Good Morning," Dumbledore greeted them all warmly, deciding to finally grace them with his presence.

As the old man went through standard formalities and a review of what had happened in the past two weeks, Draco glanced at Lovegood from the corner of his eyes. Her attention was on Dumbledore, though to anyone who did not know her well, they would have quickly written her off as day dreaming. Draco knew better.

Her hair was in a low pony tail, and she was wearing earrings today, seahorses that were charmed to look as if they were actually moving their small fins. As was typical, her wand lay tucked behind her ear. She wore a green turtleneck that was tucked into beige Muggle pants that came mid-waist. She donned the same white sneakers from yesterday.

Of its own accord, the lewd comments Crabbe and Goyle had made about her yesterday popped into his head. He quickly shut them out. It was drilled into them very early on that partnered Aurors must not allow their relationship to become anything but professional. If caught fraternizing (a.k.a shagging) both Aurors would be forced to resign, effective immediately. Draco actually found this a fair rule, as it would do no good if two Aurors were just snogging all the time instead of actually working, and was glad that though he was given a female partner, she was borderline insane, so he didn't have to worry about his basic male-attracted-to-female thoughts growing into anything more dangerous.

Suddenly, Lovegood glanced back at him and winked. Draco's eyes snapped back onto Dumbledore, thoroughly embarrassed that he had been caught staring.

"And last night, Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Lovegood seized a large amount of dangerous narcotics, and apprehended its transporters as well," Dumbledore read off the paper in front of him, peering over his glasses frame to smile at them both.

Draco smirked at the quiet murmur that went through the room. Of all the things just read, that was definitely the biggest.

"Their approach to the situation was excellent, and a copy of their reports will be handed out so that you all may review their strategy," he told them, and if possible Draco's ego grew larger. He yawned and kept a bored expression on his face, knowing everyone was watching him and Lovegood.

"But what was most ingenious in their mission was Ms. Lovegood's absolutely brilliant recognition of a ward despite no inclination to assuming one was there," Dumbledore went on, this time only smiling at Lovegood. A quick glance at Potter and Longbottom's love struck faces was enough to make him gag.

"It is this type of vigilance and awareness of one's surrounding every Auror should possess," Dumbledore told them, ignoring the blatant irony of calling Luna Lovegood, who constantly looked as if she were in another world, vigilant of her surroundings. Normally such direct praise of another Auror would have made him green with envy, but in this case, he knew Lovegood had truly earned it.

"Thank you sir," Lovegood said sweetly, her voice always in a humble tone.

Dumbledore gave her one more smile before continuing. "Normally this is where I would dismiss you all, but I fear I have some ire news to share."

"For the past few months, there have been a streak of murders that we have reason to believe are all interconnected," Dumbledore said, his tone uncharacteristically grave, " These murders are most peculiar in nature, for they are all done by the killing curse, yet each victim dies exactly three days after they have been cursed."

A round of whispers set fire across the room. Even Draco was thoroughly intrigued and disgruntled. A delayed killing curse?

"Very little evidence is left behind at the scene of these crimes, but the few victims we had managed to speak with before they most unfortunately passed away, has given us enough information to believe that the group behind these heinous crimes refers to themselves as _The Sanctus_ *."

"As first-class Auror's, you have not yet been given the security clearance required to join this investigation, however, with the rate of killings increasing, we have decided that first-class Auror's should be informed of this and taught the characteristics that would point to a murder done by this most unfortunate group."

"You will be given all the reports accumulated thus far on regarding this grave situation," he finished, "Study this information thoroughly, the first step towards solving a problem is correctly identifying it."

"If you come across an act you believe to have been done by the Sanctus," his voice rose with seriousness, "You _must_ call for backup."

Draco took in this disturbing information. He didn't think of it as unintentional, for the killing curse to kill its victim after a period of time. Dumbledore hadn't mentioned any motives, which probably meant that the Auror office was still trying to figure it out, but one thing was clear, one ultimate goal of this group was definitely to spread fear. The only thing worse than having a loved one die, was to watch that loved one slowly die, knowing there's nothing to do to reverse the process.

"Draco,  Dumbledore wishes to speak to us," Lovegood told him quietly, gently tugging on his shirt sleeve. He followed her out of the room where Dumbledore was already walking, presumably to his office.

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Lovegood," he greeted them as they caught up. It seemed that he was fine carrying out this conversation walking, "The five men you captured yesterday have spoken to the interrogation squadron, it seems as if they were simply middle men."

Draco nodded, he had assumed as much.

"They don't know who was picking up the shipment, and they only know that the shipper is based in Venice, I'm assigning you both to take down whoever is organizing this in Italy."

Draco couldn't help but grin- this was the biggest case they had been assigned yet!

"You two can set off tomorrow, you should get the full confessional scripture delivered to your desks soon, it will contain all the details you need to know," Dumbledore told them as they finally reached his office. "I normally wouldn't have given such a heavy case to first-class Auror's, but we're a bit understaffed at the moment, and you two have certainly proven yourselves last night."

"Sir if I may," Draco asked in the utterly polite tone his mother had pounded into his head since childhood, "Why delay till tomorrow?"

Dumbledore chuckled, "Get some rest, I can smell the Pepper Up on both of you."

With that the old man opened his door and entered his office, leaving him and Lovegood alone in the hallway.

"I've always wanted to go Venice," Lovegood said dreamily.

Draco rolled his eyes. "This isn't a vacation, Lovegood," he snapped, still annoyed that she had brought him into a drama storm.

Lovegood was oblivious to his annoyance and just skipped ahead of him to their office. He paused momentarily when she entered the room. On the door was a golden plaque that read _Lovegood and Malfoy_. He didn't know how he felt about it, their names together like that. He couldn't explain it, but it just felt...wrong.

Stepping into the office, he found that Dumbledore had been true on his word, and the written version of the confessions were on their respective desks. Draco picked up the paper and was putting it in his bag when Luna spoke up.

"What are your plans for the rest of the day, Draco?"

Draco looked up at her calm expresion. He had been planning on going home, reviewing the confessions, brushing up on his extremely limited Italian and familiarizing himself with a map of Venice.

"I was just going to go home and prep for tomorrow, why?" he asked, arching one eyebrow up.

Draco's eyes followed the movement of her hand as she tucked a stray hair behind her ear, "Before last night we had never found ourselves in a position where we were separated and couldn't communicate effectively," she said. Draco nodded her on, curious to see where she was going to lead this. "Well I was thinking, remember during our training when we learned Legilimency?"

* * *

_Around two and a half years ago_

"Considering you have made it this far in your training, you lot aren't _complete_ buffoons," Assistant Auror in-chief Severus Snape drawled, looking down his long nose at the young Aurors in front of him.

Draco was excited, today they would be learning Legilimency and Occulency by Snape himself, one of the most revered Occulents there was.

"As it is, if you do not sufficiently master Legilimency and Occulency, you will not be able to proceed further with your training," Snape sneered. "So I advise you to hang on to every word I say, if you want any chance at being called an Auror one day."

And so hang he did, and by the time they did their fourth rotation, Draco was feeling pretty good in his skills. He was far from mastery, but it was more doable than he had initially suspected.

Draco did not suppress his groan when Snape called for a partner rotation and Loony Lovegood seated herself across from him. The last thing he wanted was to be in the mind of a mad-woman. He shuddered at what probably went on in that Loony bin she called her mind.

"Hello Draco," she greeted warmly, completely ignoring his open expression of disdain.

"I'll be filing a lawsuit if you drive me mad," he warned her, taking in her outfit with a look of disgust.

"How would you file a lawsuit if you were mad?" she asked, tilting her head, her tone completely serious.

"Let's just get this over with," he snapped, annoyed that she was actually right in her logic.

Snape had made his way over to them and glared at Lovegood, "Remember Ms. Lovegood, to focus on memories related to _snow_ not some crumple horned Nargle."

Lovegood looked at him in shock, "That exists?!"

"Focus!" Snape growled. Lovegood resumed staring at Draco.

Rolling his eyes, Draco leaned forward, leaning his elbows on his knees. He stared back into her blue eyes, and worked to project his conscious into hers.

It was strange, how quickly he felt her mental barrier; with every other person he had worked with, it had taken him some time to even reach that. Satisfied with his growing skill, Draco pushed against her barrier and found that she held up no resistance.

The world around them slowly melted away and Draco found that the color of her eyes began to tint his vision at the edges, and his own mind felt as if it was submerged in a feeling that he honestly could only explain as _Lovegood_.

Bright colors burst in his vision and slowly shapes began to appear and taken form. When everything came into focus he found himself standing on a snowy hilltop, in front of a woman and a little girl who were building a snowman.

The woman, he realized with a start, looked almost exactly like Lovegood, except her eyes were brown instead of blue. Lovegood's mother, he figured.

Despite knowing Lovegood had willingly let him see this memory, he still felt  invasive, privy to such intimacy, at the sight of pure happiness on the faces of both mother and daughter.

Her mother ignored him, or perhaps was not aware of his existence, but the younger Lovegood had noticed him. She gave him a smile and Draco noticed that she was missing a tooth.

"Hello," younger Lovegood greeted. What was most peculiar, however, was that when she spoke, it wasn't the voice of a child, but the airy adult one he was accustomed to.

"It seems as if Mummy can't see you," Lovegood went on, "But I can."

"How is this possible?" he finally asked, bewildered at what was going on. Legilimency was peering into someone's mind, not actively interacting with their memories.

Lovegood shrugged, and Draco felt uncomfortable at how _normal_ of a child she looked, "I'm not sure."

She walked over to him and took his hand in her mittened one. Strangely enough, it was only Lovegood's hand that he could feel, he couldn't feel the cold or even the snow crunching beneath his shoes.

"I think Snape is waiting for us, perhaps you should leave," Lovegood told him softly.

Draco whirled to stare at her, "You mean you're not just a memory, you know what's going on?"

Lovegood nodded and smiled, "Yes, you're my classmate, Draco."

"Luna love," Lovegood's mother called out. "It's time to go in my sweets."

Lovegood skipped over to her mother and waved to him, "See you on the outside."

Draco's eyes flew open, and he found himself once again in his chair in the Auror training room in front of Snape and Lovegood, the latter who was panting just as heavily as he was.

Snape looked as if he were caught between wanting to look impressed and keeping up his typical facade of melodrama. In the end he ended on remarking just one thing before turning on his heel and walking away, robes bellowing behind him.

"How interesting..."

* * *

_Current Time_

"I remember," Draco told her. Besides figuring out that his and Lovegood's minds could connect with an ease that he could never replicate again with anyone else, that was also the day he began to realize that there was perhaps more to Lovegood than the eye could see.

"I was thinking that maybe, if we practiced enough, we could communicate through Legilimency," she explained, looking excited at the prospect.

Draco pursed his lips. Was establishing telepathy with Lovegood something he really wanted, granted, if it was even possible? She had made a fine point, they had become uncoordinated last night, and if it were to happen again, there was no guarantee that they would garner the same positive results.

He shrugged. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try."

Lovegood clasped her hands in front of her chest in excitement, "Oh I was hoping you would agree!"

"Would you be more comfortable at your place?" she asked, still smiling excitedly.

"No!" he quickly exclaimed. The last thing he needed was Potter walking in and attempting to swoon Lovegood. Pushing disturbing mental images out of his mind, he continued in a more even tone, "I mean, my flat is pretty messy at the moment, would you be opposed working at your place?"

Lovegood hopped up and down, "Oh yes please! It's been so lonely since Daddy has left, I would love to have you over!"

Draco shifted uncomfortably on his feet, he hadn't been expecting such enthusiasm.

Lovegood offered him her hand, "My floo has been acting a bit wonky lately, do you mind if I apparate us there?"

Rolling his eyes at the irony of Lovegood calling something wonky, he placed his hand in hers. While he was musing at how much smaller her hand was compared to his, Lovegood apparated them, and once the uncomfortable feeling of side-long apparation had been dispersed, Draco looked around and realized they were on the very hill he had seen years ago in Lovegood's memories.

At the bottom of the hill was the most peculiar looking house, cylindrical in shape. Lovegood had still not let go of his hand as she pulled him towards the strange house.

"Welcome to Ottery St. Catchpole," Lovegood announced, smiling at him brightly. It was only when they had reached the white fence surrounding the house did she finally let go of his hand. The front lawn was a large flower garden that even Draco had to admit was well taken care of.

Having to bend down at the low archway at the door, Draco's visual sense was immediately assualted by a barrage of colors and strange decorations when he straightened again. Each wall was a different color, and each one had something else painted on it. The furniture was tacky and it seemed as if sunlight flooded each crevice.

All in all, it was fair to say Lovegood's house was the polar opposite of Malfoy Manor.

"It was always so messy," Lovegood told him as she led him to the kitchen, which had a plethora of flower pots with different herbs. "But with Daddy gone, I've managed to keep things much neater."

"Your home is very you," Draco commented, unsure of what compelled him to say that, but it was true nonetheless.

Lovegood smiled, taking his observation as a compliment, "Thank you, I was the one who painted all the walls."

Draco raised his eyebrows at this, she was a pretty talented artist then.

Lovegood began rummaging in the fridge, "Do you mind if we work outside? It's wonderful weather."

"Sure," Draco replied easily. Despite visiting the house for the first time, he was threatened by large waves of nostalgia that was leaving him remarkably uncomfortable.

"Are leftovers ok with you? I was thinking a picnic later on would be nice," Lovegood said, showing him a plate heaped with chicken, vegetables, corn meal and a small bowl of pudding.

"Sure," Draco repeated, though his mouth was suddenly filled with saliva. He and Potter _really_ needed to discuss getting a cooking elf, it had been far too long since he had eaten a homemade meal like that.

Lovegood used her wand to place two plates into a basket, "Well then, we're off!"

* * *

_3 hours later_

He was lying in the grass, his mind utterly exhausted from their legilimency practice.

Lovegood had taken them to a nice pond by her house that had ample shade from the trees that surrounded it. As Draco ran his hands through his hair, trying to soothe his tired mind, he allowed himself to enjoy what was really a very pleasant summer day. They had taken a break earlier to eat, but Draco had enjoyed the food too much to pay much mind to the weather.

He glanced over at Lovegood and found her leaning back on her forearms, tilting her head back, exposing her neck completely to him. A sweet smelling breeze slid through her open hair and Draco stared as three rays of sunlight illuminated the skin of her neck.

 _"I think that's enough for today, don't you?"_ Lovegood's voice suddenly spoke in his mind, and he ripped his eyes away from her neck.

 _Yeah, that was more harder than I had expected,"_   he answered back in her mind. They had been able to communicate like this up to a distance of 10 meters so far, but they were both confident that with practice, this range could be increased.

Draco picked himself up, dusting off his robes, "Make sure to go over the confessions tonight," he instructed, "Let's meet at the Ministry say, 10? We'll floo from there."

Lovegood nodded and smiled, "Thank you for coming, Draco."

He looked away and did not answer before apparating home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was admittedly a bit dry, but there were several necessary plot devices that needed to be done. Hope you enjoyed!


	3. Terrorism and Crushes

The moment Draco apparated to his and Potter's shared flat, he was met with the sight of said man and Weasley, reading a newspaper.

"Seems that Dumbledore's hand was pushed into telling us," Weasley told him as a greeting, while Potter continued reading.

"What?" Draco asked, face scrunching up in confusion as he made his way over to where they were seated on the sofa. Plopping down next to Potter, he peered over his shoulder to see what Weasley was talking about.

_Another Murder, Another Cover Up?_

_Read on to see what the Ministry has been hiding for the past 6 months!_ _Reported by Rita Skeeter_

_Last night, June 3rd, found florist Jane Sefdern dead in St. Mungo's hospital.  Sefdern had been admitted tree days earlier, claiming to have been hit by the unforgivable killing curse Avada Kedavra, when two masked men had broken into her flower shop. Healers had assured her that this was impossible, as she would not have been able to survive that. Yet three days later, Sefdern died in the same manner a victim of the killing curse does. Sudden, and without any real cause._

_John Goodfellow, a senior Healer at St. Mungo's, contacted the Daily Prophet after this tragic event._

_"This isn't the first time a patient has been admitted, telling us that they've been struck by the Killing Curse," Goodfellow said. "Each time we simply assumed it was temporary trauma induced insanity, but you know the saying, there is no such thing as coincidence. Particularly when there are repeated instances."_

_The Department of Magical Law Enforcement released a statement just this morning on the issue._

_Chief Auror Albus Dumbledore : The Auror Office is hard at work trying to capture the culprit of these heinous crimes. At first, there was not enough substantial evidence to believe these murders related, as there is yet to be any motive found, which is the sole reason no previous statement on the issue had not been released, as it is not standard protocol to make a statement every time a civilian is killed; no matter how tragic. The distressing idea of a Killing Curse that is effective after a period of three days has yet to be proven, however, and I most assure you, our top Auror's have been on this case day and night, and will continue to do so, until there is absolutely no chance of any life in danger by whomever is behind this._

_I wish to stress to the public that there is no cause for concern; simply be aware of your surroundings, and if you see any suspicious activity, please do not hesitate to contact the Auror department immediately._

Draco leaned back, the rest of the article was just typical Skeeter bullshit. Rubbing his chin with his hand, Draco absorbed Dumbledore's words.

"This just doesn't make any sense," Potter spoke up, breaking the heavy silence that had fallen on the three men, "A string of murders with no motive? It just doesn't add up."

"Maybe it's just a lunatic?" Weasley tipped in, looking doubtful at the prospect himself.

Draco shook his head, "It can't be a single loon, Sefdern herself said there were two masked men, which reinforces Dumbledore's hypothesis that this is all being done by that 'Sanctus' group."

Weasley deflated at Draco's logic, but it only further fueled Potter's confusion, "So if it's a group of people, that should be all the more reason to have a motive, because they're trying to accomplish something."

Draco looked out the window and watched as the setting sun splayed the sky in brilliant hues of red and gold.

"Maybe this _is_ what they're trying to accomplish," Draco said quietly.

He looked back at Potter and Weasley.

"What-"

"Terror," he broke in, interrupting Weasley. "They're trying to terrorize the public, and what better way to do that, than to kill people at random?"

Weasley looked horrified by his words and Potter's face grew dark.

"Make everyone scared, huh?" Potter asked rhetorically.

"But fear is another way to control people," Weasley reminded them, "So I guess the question is, what are they trying to control?

To this, no one knew the answer.           

They sat like that for a few moments, quiet and pensive until Weasley's stomach growled.

"Heh, you blokes wouldn't happen to have any food lying around, would you?" he asked sheepishly, rubbing his stomach.

Draco was instantly reminded of the delicious lunch Lovegood had given him, his mouth watering at the memory. At his sudden remembering of Lovegood, he was also suddenly reminded of Potter, who was currently telling Weasley that no, they didn't have anything to eat, had a crush on her.

Draco smiled deviously. Time to fuck with him.

"I'm still full from the lunch Lovegood made me," he told them, biting the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling at the look on Potter's face.

"You had lunch with Luna?" Potter spluttered. At the strange look Weasley gave him, he quickly added,"I mean, that's nice, how was it?"

"Oh it was very nice," Draco told him. He actually wasn't even lying. "We had a picnic by this pond at her house."

At this even Weasley looked shocked

"You had a _picnic_ at _Luna's_ house? Blimey, I always thought you hated her!" Weasley exclaimed. On his part, Potter looked equally as shocked, though a bit angry that he hadn't picnicked with Luna himself.

Draco frowned, "When did I ever say I hated her?"

"Well, you two are definitely nowhere near as close as any other Auror pair is," Potter said, still looking a bit indignant, "And I don't think I've ever heard you say a single nice thing about her."

"Lovegood is a girl!" he reminded them indignantly, "I don't want anyone, especially the higher ups, to get the wrong idea and get _fired_ all for the sake of being 'nice'!"

Weasley decided to now join the argument, "Yeah but Hermoine was telling us how she's noticed that you've never once even _smiled_ at her!"

"No one is going to think you're shagging her if you act like a decent person," Potter told him icily.

This was not the direction Draco had been anticipating the conversation to go. He had wanted to humiliate Potter, not come under fire for his conduct towards his partner.

"Lovegood and I get along just fine!" he spat. "We get along so _swimmingly_ in fact, that tomorrow when we're in Venice, we'll be going undercover as _husband and wife_."

Both Weasley and Potter were stunned at his outburst, and truthfully,  Draco himself was equally as surprised. He and Lovegood had never agreed on that, but now that he had said it, he would have to go through with it.

"Well, don't get too in character," Potter sniffed haughtily, envy strewn across his every feature.

"Bloody hell, I wish Hermoine was my partner, that sounds so hot!"

"It's just work," Draco said feebly, desperately trying to think of a way to get out of this self dug hole. After finding none, he sighed internally and accepted his fate, "Anyways, I'm going to retire early, big day tomorrow and all."

He ignored Potter and Weasley's goodnight's as he trudged into his room. Flinging himself onto his bed, Draco wondered if he had it within him to pull off acting as Lovegood's husband.

Dear Merlin...

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the short update, but we're remodeling our house and all the physical work has been leaving me EXHAUSTED. Anyways, next chapter will our favorite Auror's undercover in Venice, so look out for that ;)


	4. Blooming

Draco didn't sleep as well as he had wanted that night. He chalked it off as nerves, though intuitively he knew that this mission didn't yield a high potential for danger.

Grumpy from his fitful sleep, he donned Muggle clothing that was made up of a white button up and blue jeans; the confessional script said that the pickup had been in the Muggle part of Venice.  Potter had had the night shift the night before, so he was still sound asleep in his room as Draco made his way to the kitchen.

There wasn't much to rummage in the fridge, as it was mostly empty. Letting out a sigh of disdain,  Draco finished a cereal bar Potter always bought in four bites and downed a bottle of Pepper Up.

 Feeling the potion slowly make its way through his system, Draco stepped into the fireplace, and muttered _Ministry of Magic_.

A few moments later he stepped out into the busy floo lobby of the Ministry. Midmorning on a weekday meant the lobby was bustling with people, yet it still only took him a few moments to find Lovegood.

She was wearing a long white skirt and a yellow blouse. The top half of her hair was pulled into a messy bun held together by her wand while the other half flowed down to her hips as usual. As he neared her she gave him a smile and a wave, he also saw that she wore bumblebee earrings that looked like real bees and a butterbeer cork necklace.

Finally in front of her, he crossed his arms and frowned, "Why must you insist on wearing such loony jewelry?"

Lovegood shook her head, just as one would do when one encountered a small child who was indignant over what color the sky was that day, "Venice is full of evabils, which are deathly afraid of bee's, and I've already told you that nargles are-"

"Repelled by butterbeer corks," Draco cut in, annoyed that he knew such stupid information. "Yes I know all this, but you can't wear any of this today."

Lovegood tilted her head curiously, this was not the first time Draco had insulted her style, but it was the first time where he had outright demanded her to remove it.

"Why?"

"Because..." Draco started, suddenly unsure of how to proceed. All night he had replayed this scene over and over in his head, but now that the moment had arrived, he didn't know how to tell her his outrageous idea. "Well, we're going into Muggle Venice right?"

Lovegood nodded her head in affirmation.

"Which of course requires us to have an undercover persona," he explained slowly, trying desperately to word it properly in his mind before saying it aloud. A passing Ministry employee bumped into him as they made their way in hastily.

Motioning Lovegood to step to the side where he was less likely to be assaulted by yet another employee, Draco spoke up once more, "Well I was doing some research, and Venice is a popular....um, honeymoon destination, so it just made most sense if we went as ah, husband and wife."

He had finished the latter half of his sentence in a rush, and Draco wanted to kick himself for acting so flustered. Lovegood was his partner for Merlin's sake! It wasn't as if he was asking her to actually marry him! Draco shuddered at the thought.

Lovegood simply stared at him and Draco felt his the back of his neck growing red against his will.

Finally, when the silence had become absolutely unbearable, Draco opened his mouth to tell her to forget it when Lovegood spoke up.

"That's a great idea Draco!"

Draco felt his muscles relax slightly, the hard part was over now, at least. Feeling confident once more, Draco squared his shoulders and put on his typical haughty expression, "And since I'd never be caught dead married to a loon, even if it's all just a ruse, you're going to have to wear something more acceptable."

Lovegood was surprisingly compliant with his admittedly harsh request, "Is my outfit ok?"

He once more gave a look over, and though his gaze lingered a bit on her dirty white sneakers, he finally nodded, "Just take off the tacky jewelry."

Lovegood frowned at this, and not wanting an argument on something so ridiculous, Draco quickly added, "Don't worry, I'll protect you from the nargles and the evangelicals."

"Evabils," Lovegood corrected with a breathy laugh.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

They made their way over to the only floo the Ministry had that was connected to Venice. Lovegood had removed her jewelry and had pocketed them, which reminded Draco what was in his pocket.

"Oh right, we'll be needing this then," he said, pulling out two rubber bands from his pocket. Taking out his wand, he transfigured the first one in to a plain silver band, and with a little more effort, the second into a thinner band with a small diamond on top.

He handed Lovegood her transfigured ring offhandedly while he put his own on. Her eyes were larger than usual, giving her the look of a spooked owl. Probably impressed with his transfiguration skills, he thought to himself smugly.

The floo was large enough for them to step in together.

" _Il Palazzo_ ," he said loudly as he sprinkled floo powder over the both of them. 'The Palace' was a wizarding hotel in Venice that was currently the only location in the city to have a floo connection with the British Ministry. They both stepped into said hotel moments later, and were met with a lavish lobby that seemed to be glistening in shades of gold.

It was nice, but not anything he had never seen before.

Lovegood on the other hand, blinked rapidly as she took in the lavish surrounding. "It's all so shiny."

He rolled his eyes. "Astute observation Lovegood."

He made his way to the exit, and felt Lovegood's presence follow him from behind before she caught up as he caught sight of her in his periphery vision.

He stepped out into the hot summer day and was immediately met with that unpleasant odor that was so uniquely Venice.  Shielding his eyes from the unrelenting sun with his hand, he took in the famous sight of canals as streets, and watched as mostly young couples explored the area, with a whiny child thrown in there every now and then to complete the typical tourist picture.

In the script, one of the men had said that they had picked up the narcotics from a loading dock right by the Venice Port Authority. They were currently in wizarding Venice, and the pickup had occurred in Muggle Venice, which meant some 'exploring' may have to be necessary before they found the proper scene to investigate.

"I have a map of Muggle Venice," Lovegood told him, also taking in the sight before her. "It should take us about twenty minutes of walking to get to the Port Authority."

Draco nodded, "Let's go then."

They were silent as they walked, but Draco was far from comfortable. As they made their way to their destination, they crossed paths with countless people, muggles and magic folks alike, and over and over again, the younger honeymooning couples would give him and Lovegood a secret smile, as if they were all in on some elaborate inside joke. It was the second time when a woman looked between him and Lovegood and in turn gave Lovegood a brilliant smile before looking at her own husband with disgustingly gooey eyes did Draco understand what was going on. The newlyweds of Venice thought him and Lovegood to be of the same relationship status, thus forging some strange bond between them and these strangers.

Draco wanted to gag before realizing that this _had_ been his idea. His discomfort was quickly replaced, however, by curiosity. What were they doing that caused passerby's to assume they were new lovers? Neither of their rings were overly conspicuous, and he and Lovegood weren't even looking at each other, let alone touching each other unlike the countless couples they had passed who really should just go back to their hotel rooms and finish their business there. He supposed they were walking closer than typical, but that still wasn't evidence substantial enough to immediately jump to the conclusion they were married. 

'You're thinking too much like an Auror,' he told himself. 'These morons probably just see any man and woman young in age and together and automatically come up with absurd notions.'

 Lovegood on the other was too busy admiring the rustic beauty of the city to notice any of this, for which Draco was actually grateful. Saved them from a few awkward moments.

After what seemed like an eon, they had finally reached the start of their investigation. Draco glanced at his partner and realized that while he hadn't been paying attention, she had transfigured the wand that had been in her hair to look like a muggle hair accessory; he hadn't even thought of disguising his wand. Frowning, he reached one hand into his shirt sleeve where his wand was stored and gripped it, angry that he had let something as frivolous as the stares of strangers distract him from his work.

Deciding it would be acceptable to leave his wand remain hidden in his sleeve, Draco held open the large and heavy door open for Lovegood before following after her . Time for some actual sleuth work.

"Lovegood, why don't I try to find out some information inside while you be on the lookout for anything _suspicious_ outside?"

Sending away Lovegood was purposeful. Lovegood was proving to be increasingly distracting during this particular mission (him completely forgetting his wand testifying as proof of this), he needed her out of sight so that he could attain crucial information.

Lovegood regarded him closely for a moment before nodding. Giving him a smile she said in what was supposed to be an encouraging tone, "Good luck!"

Draco stared at her retreating figure for a moment before turning around and walking towards the information desk in long purposeful strides.

"Pardon," Draco said smoothly.

A young woman with black hair styled in a short pixie cut raised an eyebrow at him, not giving him an answer to his polite interruption of her focus from her com....computer? He couldn't remember if that was the correct term for the muggle technology she had been using.

Pushing aside memories of his father ranting about the Italian work ethic, he continued in a smooth baritone, words oozing out like melted butter, "I wish to inquire about cargo boat scheduling at every dock within city limits."

She continued to stare at him with a bored expression. Suddenly she blew a bubble that popped rather loudly.

"What?"

Barely containing himself from hexing her, Draco bit out, "I need to know which boats with cargo docked in the city last week, particularly at night."

"Can't," the woman said simply, her gaze already flitting back to the computer (?).

Draco slammed his fist on the counter in front of him, causing her to jump and glare and him, "And why the hell not?" he hissed.

She narrowed her eyes at him, "Only city officials and permit holders can request such information."

It seemed muggle bureaucracy was more complicated than he had presumed.

"You're _inept_ ," he spat, knowing that he was taking his anger out on the wrong person, but doing so anyways.

Misguided anger can be synonymous with cruelty- he suddenly remembered Lovegood saying that to him once, months ago. He suddenly felt the sharp brunt of that lesson as he took in the hurt  expression on the woman's face.

Darting his eyes to a place over the woman's shoulder, he muttered, "My apologies, have a nice day."

Not waiting for a reply he quickly spun on his heel and stalked towards the door, ready to complain to Lovegood about what happened. Although he would most definitely leave out the part where her gentle teachings from months past had triggered him into apologizing.

Bursting out of the large building, he looked around for his partner. They knew that the pickup had been nearby so the next step was simply to look around, however harrowing that sounded. He finally caught sight of Lovegood, standing at the edge of the boardwalk, the large bay offering a beautiful background behind her.

And she wasn't alone.

Something hideous prickled inside him at the sight of a lanky man with shaggy hair leaning in and taking Lovegood's hand, and the prickling turned into full out searing when Lovegood laughed at something he said.

He bounded over towards them, not knowing what he was about to do until he had done it. Grabbing the deeply tanned man by the lapels of his shirt, Draco effortlessly hoisted the man into the air,  eyes narrowed in rage.

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't throw you over the railing for trying to romance my wife," Draco barked.

The man's eyes went wide as saucers and gripped Draco's wrists, trying and failing, to get him to release.

" _Amico_!" the man exclaimed, "I was doing no such thing, I was just trying to sell her a timeshare!"

Draco's white hot anger began to grow red, "Do you really think insulting my intelligence by thinking I would believe selling time is possible going to help you?"

"Draco," Lovegood said firmly, placing a small hand on his bicep. For one brief absolutely insane moment, Draco wondered if she liked how his muscles felt flexed beneath her hand. His moment of derangement ended when he remembered that during their legilimency practice, they had discovered if they made any type of physical contact, they could form a mental connection immediately, which is what Lovegood did.

_"He was trying to sell me a timeshare initially, "_ she told him in his mind, quickly adding, _"It's a muggle thing. Anyways, I think he may have some information that could be of use to us._ "

_”Like what?"_ Draco groused back in her mind.

During their mental conversation, Draco had continued his hold on the man, his suspended legs dangling mid air.

"Are you two talking in your _heads_?" the afloat man asked incredulously, looking back and forth between him and Lovegood with a look of growing excitement on his face.

Draco dropped him without warning, and the man crumpled into a pathetic heap in front of them.

"Forgive him Fabio, he gets cranky when he's hungry," Lovegood said, bending down to help Fabio, who was now glaring at Draco as he rubbed his ankle that had twisted when he had fallen.

Draco took no notice of this, too busy staring at Lovegood. How had she known he was hungry?

"Yes, well your transfigured wedding ring makes more sense now," Fabio said stiffly. Draco then noticed that he was wearing ridiculous looking sunglasses on the top of his head. In fact, he had seen glasses extremely similar to those before...

"Fabio here charmed the wrackspurt spotting glasses the Quibbler distributes to pick up transfigured patterns in objects," Lovegood explained to him. Draco rolled his eyes, so that's where he had seen those glasses, Lovegood had the same pair, just in a bright pink color instead of Fabio's green.

"What makes sense?" Draco asked curtly, paying no mind to the Quibbler talk.

"Fake rings, telepathy, awkward tension," Fabio counted off, "You two aren't married, you're undercover. Aurors I take it?"

Draco was about to deny his claim when Lovegood nodded.

"We are," she said dreamily, "And we were wondering if you could give us some information."

A coy smirk that Draco detested stretched across Fabio's face.

"Of course _mia bella_ ," he replied easily, "But at the right price, of course."

Draco pulled out his wand and transfigured it to look like a cigar in two fluid movements, and pointed it at Fabio's chest.

"You either comply with us," Draco explained icily, "Or I place a disillusionment and silencing charm that would hide your suffering from my hexes to the muggles around us."

_"Draco,"_ Lovegood's voice filtered into his mind once more, despite no contact being initiated this time, her tone but airy and firm, _"We're no longer in Britain, and under international stature you can get in a lot of trouble for using magic against someone who has committed no crime."_

Draco sighed and sheathed his wand/cigar in his sleeve once more, both hating that she was right, and glad that she had stopped him before he went and did something blunderously stupid. He couldn't explain why, but the sight of _Fabio_ made him irrationally angry all over.

"Well, now that that's over, may we get to business?" Fabio asked, brushing imaginary dust off his sleeve and purposefully looking bored.

Lovegood nodded him on, and Draco just stood there tersely, which Fabio took as a yes from both of them.

Fabio leaned back on the metal rope strung between the wooden posts that acted as a safety barrier and looked at the both of them closely, "What are you two looking for?"

Meeting each other's eyes briefly, Draco tipped his chin down once as an ok from him for her to continue.

"A list of all the cargo boats that docked around here last week," Lovegood supplied, "We have a tip that a pickup occurred here, and we need to track down the source to completely staunch the flow."

Fabio nodded, then looked at Draco with a half sneer half smile, "I presume that's what you were trying to find out back there?" he asked, jutting to the building behind them with his chin.

Draco crossed his arms stiffly, "Yes."

Fabio shook his head and laughed, "You're not going to find out anything from them, especially if what you're looking for is...out of _this_ world, if you catch what I mean."

" _So.then.tell.us,"_ Draco gritted out, his patience completely blown off at this point.

"Aha!" Fabio shouted. "This is where we get into business- you two buy a ticket for my _amico_ 's city tour circuit and I'll tell you whatever you want."

"If you think we will comply with such ridiculous demands," Draco seethed, "Then you'll-"

"I have worked with Mad-Eye Moody before," Fabio interrupted. "Go on and contact him if you choose. My information is completely factual, as he can attest, and no one knows the working of this fucking city better than me."

Mad-Eye was a second class Auror, and an extremely esteemed one at that. Even Draco held respect for the man, and couldn't help but be swayed by Fabio's persuasion. A quick glance at Lovegood was all the confirmation he needed. Wanting nothing more but to hang the man by his toes and forcibly extract whatever he needed from him, Draco swallowed his pride.

" _Fine_ , " he agreed in great irritation, "But even my partner here won't be able to save you from my jinxes if this is all a wild goose chase."

Fabio looked confused. "Who said anything about gooses?"

"Anyways," Lovegood cut in before Draco could punch the man in the face, "From where can we procurer these tickets?"

* * *

_15 minutes later_

"I can't believe you talked me into this," Draco grumbled as they at the entrance of the restaurant, waiting to be seated. Fabio's _amico_ Raphael's tour began with a luncheon at a cafe like restaurant that had an admittedly beautiful view of the expansive water body surrounding Venice.

"I know you're unhappy," Lovegood said reasonably, "But we had no other leads, and therefore no other option."

A waiter with a mustache that looked a bit too similar to the one of the infamous muggle Hitler had come and taken them to a table of two outside on a balcony. A salty breeze lifted Draco's hair from his forehead, mussing it.

"I'll have the club sandwich and pudding," Lovegood ordered politely. The waiter raised his eyebrow at this but wrote it down nevertheless.

Despite the stereotype of it, Draco ordered pasta. When in Rome, right?

Draco had gone back to crossing his arms across his chest, and stared moodily at the picturesque scene in front of him. His annoyance at the situation didn't allow for him to enjoy the view, no matter how nice.

Lovegood reached across the table and placed her hand on one of his, "I know you're upset, but try to enjoy yourself, muggles have proven that a happy brain is more efficient one."

Draco rolled his eyes but allowed himself to smirk, "Are you sure it's not a...dimburger halagoozle that makes people's brains more efficient?"

Having grown used to his teasing, Lovegood smiled but did not rise to the bait as she would have done two years ago.

"Perhaps," she said back in an equally teasing tone, "Though I'm afraid you'll have to tell me more about them."

"Hmmm," Draco pretended to be deep in thought, rubbing his chin while looking pensive, "You see they are small and....spiky. And they only latch on to blonde girls."

"Oh!" Lovegood exclaimed, her growing larger by the second, "It seems I'm a part of that demography!"

"Yes," Draco said dryly, though also smiling, "It seems you are. Anyways, these blonde girls, when acting particularly ditzy, will be pinched or lightly shook by a more intelligent male colleague, this action is what attracts the....what was it? Yes, dimburger halagoozle's, and suddenly these blonde girl's start thinking like they never have before."

"Oh no," Lovegood said, face falling. Suddenly Draco felt guilty, he had gone too far hadn't he? He and Lovegood had never spoken like this before, so they had never drawn any lines, but it was clear he had crossed one. Before he could force himself to apologize, Lovegood continued, "It seems as if I'll never be affected by these wondrous creatures, I have no intelligent male colleague to speak of!"

Draco burst out laughing. Not his subdued signature cackle, but full on laughter that made his sides ache. Uncaring that most of the restaurant was sending glares in his direction, Draco leaned his arms on the table and leaned forward, while Lovegood continued to sit politely straight in her own chair, hands folded in front of her.

"It seems that whenever I think I've figured you out Lovegood, you go and trip me up all over again," he told her, easing his smile into a more classic Draco smirk. Just because she cracked a good joke didn't mean he had to go and start looking like a chump.

"You should smile more," Lovegood said. Draco was too stunned to give a reply.

"You look much nicer when you smile," Lovegood went on serenely, absently swirling a straw in her glass of water.

Pulling himself together, Draco put on an even more infuriating smirk, "Now Lovegood, need I remind you of our strict fraternizing rules?"

"If we went to bed with every person we found attractive, that wouldn't leave many nights to curl up in your bed and read a good book, now would it?" Lovegood said cryptically, her dreamy gaze focused on him.

"I suppose not," Draco finally said, unsure of what else to say. The food arrived that moment and Draco busied himself  in ravishing the plate in front of him, his poor breakfast choice had really been a bitch to him all day, and he was ravenous.

He and Lovegood had never ever, in even a roundabout way, discussed sex before, but now that the Pandora's box had been open, so to say , Draco could not help but wonder how many men had warmed Lovegood's bed, and at what frequency.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Draco blurted out, unable to contain his curiosity. "I mean, I know you live alone now, but I was just-"

"No," Lovegood interrupted him, her reply easy, "I've never had a boyfriend."

Draco's eyebrows shot up. "Never?" he echoed in disbelief.

"There have certainly been a few that have wanted the title," Lovegood admitted, "But I was never interested."

"Are you interested in either Potter or Longbottom?" Draco asked a bit harsher than he had wanted, carefully scrutinizing her face for any change of expression. There was none.

"No."  
She continued staring at him, as if waiting for him to ask his follow up question. Which he did.

"Are you aware that they're interested in _you?_ "

She looked away at this question. "I am."

An understanding suddenly dawned on him, epiphany like, "You fancy another bloke, don't you? That's why you don't consider anyone else."

"When I was eight, I asked my Mummy how she knew that she loved Daddy," Lovegood said. Draco tilted his head, but immediately straightened it, annoyed that he was picking up on Lovegood's mannerisms. "Do you know what she said?"

Her question was obviously rhetorical, so he said nothing, only watching as her gaze grew even more distant, and he knew without the aid of legilimency that Lovegood was no longer looking at him, but in her mind's eye where it was her Mummy sitting across from her, not him. A moment later her eyes refocused, and Lovegood went on.

"She said: Luna, you will know when you are in love when he makes you bloom like a flower. He will awaken parts within; the good in you that you never even knew existed. He will take these dormant parts of you and make you strive to be a better person in every sense of the word, for both his sake and yours. And do you know how you'll know if he loves you back? You've made him bloom as well."

"Life isn't a bloody garden," he all but sneered at her, unable to take this rose-vision view of life seriously.

"Life is whatever you make of it," Lovegood tossed back with no offense at his scathing tone.

The uneaten portion of their food had gone cold, but both of them paid no attention to that.

"Neville and Harry are my friends, and while they certainly inspire me to do better, both I and them have not changed fundamentally, to avoid using flower analogies, since meeting them. They are merely infatuated with me, and it's better to let these things pass, so that no feelings are hurt."

"That's not the principle of love I was raised with," he told her, though unsure why. "I was told that love is a fleeting feeling, and that relationships should be built on what gives to mutual benefit in aim towards the same goal."

Draco had always believed the values his father had drilled into him-had never questioned them, but now, speaking them aloud, even he felt the hollowness of this belief.

"Oh Draco," Lovegood said sympathetically, "There is no end _goal_ , life is exactly this, the moment in which you are currently in."

"Without goals your life is aimless," Draco argued back, unwilling to relent to her logic.

"That's true," Lovegood agreed, "There should be goals in your life,  but your life shouldn't _be_ a goal."

Draco pursed his lips in thought. Throughout his adolescence, he had been applauded on his endless ambition, his constant strive for greater results.  He had joined the Auror office because he had seen the potential of just how much he could achieve there, and how quickly. Every other Ministry branch required either connections or time for a promotion,  but Aurors progressed solely on the basis talent. Draco had been chasing that, chasing the recognition of how powerful he was, but beyond that Draco didn't really know what he wanted from his life.

He didn't care for the valor associated with being an Auror, it had been about the power from the start- but what did he want to do with the power?

"You're right," he said slowly. "I became an Auror to prove how powerful I am as a wizard but beyond that...I suppose I don't know what I want beyond that."

"You are a powerful wizard," Lovegood said softly, and Draco's ego sailed past the roof above them, "But I'm afraid if more power is all you seek, you'll also be an unhappy wizard."

"So what?" Draco said defensively, "You want me to pack up, retire, find a wife and have her pop out a few kids? Do you think that's what'll make me happy?

Lovegood simply shrugged. "I don't know, will it?"

Draco frowned at her, but considered her question. It had always been expected of him to settle down and produce an heir to carry on the Malfoy lineage, but he had always thought the idea of marriage and fatherhood as a responsibility that fell on his mantle as the Malfoy heir, not something to strive for in pursuit of happiness.

"I'm going to have an arranged marriage with a pureblood witch from one of the big 28 families," he replied, "So while I expect my wife and I will get along well enough, I don't think she'll exactly be the reason my heart beats or whatever nonsense you romantics constantly splutter on about."

"I don't think I'm a romantic," Lovegood twirled a strand of thick honey blonde hair around her index finger, "But I do think loving your spouse is somewhat necessary in order to have a successful marriage."

"Pureblood marriage is more than something as frivolous as love-it's about duty!" he exclaimed, quoting his father exactly.

"If you think getting an arranged marriage is doing the _right_ thing," Lovegood responded calm as ever, "Then of course it will work out, that's the upside of choosing to do good, even if it isn't what you want to do."

"What the hell do you mean, if it's the _right_ thing?" he snapped, hating how she was so effortlessly getting under his skin.

"The heart is an amazing thing Draco," Lovegood said in a dreamier tone than usual, "It is always able to tell whether or not what we're about to do is good or bad, our brains just choose to ignore it sometimes."

"Yes, you also find bloody nargles amazing as well," he hissed, "How about you first get in a relationship yourself before trying to dictate mine."

Lovegood shook her head, almost sadly. "I'm not trying to dictate anything, Draco," she told him earnestly, "I have complete faith in you that when the time comes, you will always choose to do the right thing."

Draco was so astounded at her concrete confidence in him that he nearly missed Raphael calling all the tour group members to congregate and proceed forward with the tour.

"Oh how exciting!" Lovegood remarked, "The tour is beginning, come along Draco!"

He followed her out in a bit of  a daze, a million thoughts swirling through his head. Did _he_ want an arranged marriage? Did he _care_ if it was arranged? How the hell could deciding to marry someone be the 'right' thing anyways? It wasn't some final showdown between good and evil.

So lost was he in his mind that he bumped into Lovegood and nearly sent her tumbling into a canal, had it not been for his quick reflexes that caught her quickly by the arm and hauled her quickly to his chest.

Head still against his chest, Lovegood looked up and smiled at him. "Thank you," she said sincerely, not bringing up the fact that it was his fault that she had been nearly pushed over in the first place.

He quickly released her and took a step back, putting a respectable distance between the two. They were in line for gondolas, a type of water taxi, he realized with a start, taking in his surroundings now that he had been shook out of his daze.

 "How sweet," a much older woman behind him cooed. Apparently she had seen him catching Lovegood.

"Remember how you once caught me like that, Robert?" the woman asked to an equally as old man who stood grumpily next to her.

"Certainly you must have been a 50 kilos lighter for that to have been possible Madame," Draco snarked. What was up with old women and constantly meddling in the lives of those younger than them? Pathetic...

The old man, Robert, laughed at this while the hag scowled at him.

"How dare-"

"Do forgive my husband," Lovegood quickly interjected, placing a hand once more on Draco's bicep. He didn't know why, but he felt lightheaded at Lovegood so casually calling him her husband. "He's just easily flustered."

"Next!" a gondola had pulled up, and he and Lovegood were next in the cue to board. Taking his hand, Lovegood pulled him over to where they were to get on. Draco boarded first, his footing initially unsteady as he readied himself on the narrow floating boat. Turning back to Lovegood who was now higher than him since she was still on the pavement, he realized that she may some difficulty getting onto the boat since she was wearing a skirt, which was the _only_ reason why he offered her a hand up to help her.

Lovegood gave him a dazzling smile and her hand neatly slipped into his. His body moving on its own, he moved forward and wrapped the back of his free arm behind her knees, and lifted her up, her other hand coming to rest on his shoulder so that she could balance herself. Gently placing her on the boat, Draco quickly retracted his arm from around her legs, embarrassed at his impulsive action.

To his utter embarrassment, Robert, the cranky old fart of the fat woman yelled, "Enjoy it while you can my boy, it's not even half the fun when she puts on those 50 kilos!"

The gondola man gave them a large grin. He was missing two teeth.

"Sit down young lovers!" he boomed in a heavy accent. "The city awaits!"

He pulled away while Roberts wife was still yelling, and Draco was glad that whole ordeal was over. The gondola man, along with all the other working ones, sang loudly as he steered them down the canals of Venice, only pausing at random intervals to give them a brief description of something particularly famous whenever they passed it.  The first ten minutes of the ride was spent like that, sitting so close to Lovegood that their shoulders were touching, while the gondola man across from the sang Italian love songs.

He was beginning to enjoy himself, the sun feeling actually quite nice on his back, when Lovegood spoke up, "That wasn't nice what you said to that woman, Draco."

He rolled his eyes. "She can cry me a canal."

"She had done nothing wrong to you," Lovegood continued on, her voice free of any anger, yet an uncharacteristic intensity was in her eyes, signifying how serious she was, "What you said was rude and uncalled for."

"Are you going to lecture me for the entirety of this bloody ride?" he snapped. He noticed that the gondola man had stopped singing and was making no effort to even conceal that he was eavesdropping.

"No," Lovegood answered easily, "I've said what I've needed to."

Neither of them spoke to each other after that, and what could have been a very pleasant ride had become downright miserable.

The gondola man cleared his throat, snapping Draco out of his moodiness.

"You see this bridge we are about to pass? With the flowers?" the man asked them, pointing to the approaching bridge.

"Yes we see it," Lovegood replied to him. Draco glared at her, what gave her the right to answer for him?

"Very famous bridge. If you kiss under it, your love is guaranteed to last."

Draco's jaw dropped of his own accord- was this man asking him to kiss _Lovegood_?! Sneaking a glance at her, he found that she too was surprised, or at least, she looked as she always did, but her lips were slightly parted.

"Go on, it brings me good luck too," he encouraged them as they neared the bridge.

He turned to Lovegood and was unsure of what to say or do, certainly they had to keep up their cover but wasn't this-

_"It's ok Draco,_ " Lovegood's voice interrupted his thoughts in his own mind. _"I don't mind if you kiss me_."

_"Oh you think you're doing me a favor giving me a kiss?"_ Draco snarled back. _”Well I-_ "

Once again Lovegood cut him off, but this time, instead of with words, with a kiss.

Her lips were so much softer than he had ever imagined, like rose petals pressed against his own lips. Though she had placed her lips on his, it was he who deepened it, leaning forward and capturing her lips with his own over and over again; she tasted of vanilla pudding, and Draco found it the most delicious flavor in the world at the moment. Her nearness was intoxicating as all Draco could perceive that moment was Lovegood, and the essence of her. The smell of her floral perfume made him feel as if he were in some enchanted garden, not a smelly water street.

The sound of a forced cough broke them apart, and Draco's eyelids fluttered open to find his eyes inches away from Lovegood's, her bright blue eyes clearer than he had ever seen. Leaning away from her, he took in her rosy cheeks and chest that was rising and falling quickly.

"See? It works," The gondola man said smugly. He resumed singing Italian love songs.

15 minutes later, both he and Lovegood left the gondola. He had to help her up this time, though there was nowhere near as much bodily contact as the last time he had helped her. They had tipped the jolly man well, and were forced to wait in silence for the rest of the tour group before they could continue.

What the hell had just happened? Draco was a master at deception, including to himself, but even he could not deny that the kiss he had shared with Lovegood was under no circumstance a normal one. He had done much more with many women, but never had a single kiss been able to sear his blood as it currently was in his veins.  And he never lost his tight grip on his control in public, but the moment Lovegood's lips connected with his, every rational thought he had had flown out of his mind, leaving only one behind:

_I want to kiss her more_.

He was horrified that he _still_ wanted to kiss her, though they had no need to do so.  He was acting ridiculous! He wasn't a horny teenage boy who had just had his first kiss! He was an experienced grown man who wonder no circumstance would lust after _Loony Lovegood for Merlin's sake!_

Another thought entered his mind that made his burning body grow cold. What in magic's sake did _Lovegood_ make of the kiss? Did she think he was attracted to her? Was _she_ attracted to him? Was she repulsed and only went along for the sake of their cover, or had she responded the way she had because just like him, she had _wanted_ to?

"Draco," Lovegood said suddenly, causing him to jump. "Mummy always said some mysteries are always better left unsolved."

Draco frowned at her in confusion, but at that moment caught sight of Robert and his portly wife, who were the last members of the tour group, which meant they could move forward with the tour.

Deciding to ignore Lovegood's current words to focus on her previous ones, he walked over to where the gondola had docked , and held out a hand to the older woman. Before their kiss, Lovegood had been upset with him, and it would do no good to be in foreign waters with a cross partner; it was a matter of self interest, he told himself.

"My profuse apologies Ma'am," he apologized in an immaculate tone of regret, "My wife was correct, I do fluster easily, though that is no excuse for my behavior. May I help you up?"

The woman glared at him, "Are you sure you can lift my extra _fifty kilos_?"

"I would carry 100 kilos if it meant helping you," he returned smoothly, and knew at the change in her expression that his apology was accepted. It was a good thing Auror training was vigorous, because it _was_ difficult to pull her up, but he managed.

She had given him a stiff thanks and Robert had returned to looking grumpy, so Draco turned back to rejoin Lovegood, as they group made their way to an art museum.

She was smiling when he reached her side.

"I'm proud of you," she told him, looking up at him through her lashes.

"Lovegood," Draco began, "You make me do the strangest things."

Lovegood bumped his arm with her shoulder, "Is that your nicer way of saying 'your craziness is contagious'?"

Draco snorted. "I don't do nice."

"No," Lovegood agreed. "Not yet."

"What do you mean?" he asked, but Lovegood just shook her head mysteriously. They had reached the museum and after showing their tour tickets, they were granted admission. Draco was about to push her once more for an answer when Lovegood spoke up.

"Shouldn't you call me Luna?" she asked,  looking suddenly amused. "Since I am, after all, your wife."

Draco blinked. He hadn't even considered that. He had a feeling she had just brought that up now to distract him, but he let it go, and worked on trying to get himself to calling her by her first name.

"You're right...Luna."

It was the first time he had ever spoken her first name aloud, and it rolled off his tongue like silk, his tongue brushing against the roof of his mouth first forwards then backwards as he enunciated the two syllables.

Lovegood giggled, "Not very hard, now what is it Draco?"

Draco grunted and pretended to be interested in art.

* * *

_Three hours later_

"Well," Fabio said with a leech like grin. "I take that you both liked the tour very much, no?"

Lovegood smiled, "Oh yes, it was lovely."

"If you don't tell me what you know in the next five seconds, I _will_ hang you by your toes," Draco threatened, done playing games.

Fabio put his hands up defensively, "Ok Ok _amico_!". Turning to Lovegood he quipped an eyebrow, "How _do_ you put up with him _mia bella_?"

Draco raised his wand/cigar, when Lovegood for the third time that day put her hand on his bicep. He shivered at her touch, the innocent contact already spurring the memory of their kiss  all over again.

"He's actually a very good person, just a bit temperamental," Lovegood informed Fabio evenly. "But we really must insist on the information we were promised."

Fabio nodded, "There's a cafe right around the corner, we'll be less likely to be overheard there."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Amico: Friend  
> Mia Bella: My beautiful
> 
> Before I say anything, I have never been to Venice, so all of my knowledge pertaining to the city is from a book I read in elementary school and a few google searches, so please forgive me if it does not match up exactly to what the city is like.
> 
> Now that that's out of the way, this was a big update, mostly because I had so much fun writing it!! I hope you enjoyed :)


	5. Sold Out

The café was doused in red fluorescent lights, giving the coffee shop a more charged vibe than the typical establishment.

He, Lovegood, and Fabio were tucked away in the back corner, away from any wandering eyes or overly curious ears.

“So,” Fabio began once they were all seated, taking a loud sip from his mug. “If you’re trying to look for Smugglers, I think the best place for you to investigate is the _Metropolitana_ \--quite literally, the underground.”

“You mean like a Black Market Headquarter?” Draco asked, leaning forward on his forearms to better catch what Fabio was saying.

“No, I mean it’s literally underground,” Fabio explained with a laugh. “Though I suppose it _is_ a headquarters so to speak.”

“While you were in wizarding Venice, did you notice how there we no large docking areas?” He asked. Not waiting for them to answer, he continued. “That’s because all magical shipments arrive at a port below the city.”

“The water from up top is funneled to fill up the harbor down below,” he explained. “Not all of it is illegal, most of it really is just wizarding transportation and trading, but there are definitely Smugglers lurking down there, you just have to know how to find them.”

“How do the ships get in and out?” Lovegood suddenly asked from besides him. She had stopped swirling her straw in her chocolate milk and had shifted her attention to Fabio. Her glassy eyes were an indescribable color in the red light.

“About two miles into the sea there’s an activation spot that allows the ship entry to the port if you know the correct spell sequence,” he told her, pleased at her interest in the workings of his hometown. “It’s pretty incredible to watch actually, the sea splits and forms this downwards tunnel-”

“Do you know who the Smugglers are down there?” Draco snapped, trying to keep the conman focused.

Fabio laughed. “No way, I don’t mess with men like that. I _do_ however, have a rather unfortunate friend that does.”

“Unfortunate?” Lovegood repeated, tilting her head to the side. Draco crossed his arms across his chest, he did not like where this was going.

“Yes, my friend Alfeo decided to pull out a loan from some less than…. reputable people, and now finds himself unable to pay back the sum on top of all their extra fees and charges,” Fabio told her, rolling his eyes. “I told that _idiota_ not to go to them but what does he do? He goes to them.”

“So,” Draco broke in once more, interrupting his rambling. “Alfredo can help us figure out who sent out that shipment?”

“ _Alfeo_ ,” Fabio enunciated slowly in annoyance. “Will help you if you help him.”

Draco stood suddenly, slamming his palms against the table, the legs of the chair scrapping loudly against the floor.

“If you think I’m going on another _fucking_ tour I _will_ drown you,” Draco threatened darkly, unable to contain his frustrations towards the Italian anymore.

“Actually,” Fabio responded calmly, pulling out a cigarette and dangling it between his lips. “He needs your protection.”  
Lovegood leaned forward and Fabio lit his cigarette, “Protection from the men who he owes money?”

“Precisely _Mia Bella_ ,” he answered, shooting Draco a disdainful look. “At least one of you in this partnership has a functioning brain.”

Suddenly feeling foolish for standing while they both remained seated, Draco crossed his arms and huffed. “We’re not a security detail, nor am I going to recklessly put my own life in danger because your friend is too dimwitted to budget properly.”

“I’m going to have to partially agree with Draco Mr. Fabio,” Lovegood said, taking Draco by surprise. “If these men are as dangerous as you are seeming to imply, it doesn’t make sense for Draco and I to expose ourselves like that.”

Snatching the cigarette from his mouth, Fabio ran a hand through his long hair and sighed. “Look, there is an element of danger here, sure, but you two are trained Aurors! Haven’t you been trained for this?”

“Well, yes-“ Lovegood started.

“Then what’s the big deal?” Fabio interrupted in frustration. “Alfeo has the money now OK? He just gotta withdraw it from the bank down there. If they see him without money they’ll kill him, but once he has the check all three of you are safe!”

“Besides,” he continued. “Isn’t this time sensitive? The longer you wait, the further those thugs slip away from you.”

Draco uncrossed his arms and sighed. This was their only lead, and night was quickly falling on the city. He doubted they would coincidentally run into another information man, least of all one they could grudgingly trust.

He looked down at Lovegood and found her already looking at him.

“Well,” Draco barked. “Aren’t you going to take us to Alfeo?”

Fabio grinned widely.

* * *

 

_One Hour Later_

After standing at the intersection of 42nd and 34th street for what seemed like a century, a scrawny blonde man with a crocked nose slinked out of the shadows.

He spoke in Italian to Fabio, and all Draco could decipher really was a _sorry_ , _late_ , and _following_.

Then, taking him by complete surprise Fabio and who he could only assume as Alfeo, embraced tightly and kissed. Next to him Lovegood didn’t look shocked, but then again, Draco had a hard time recalling that particular expression on her face.

Breaking away, Fabio had enough grace to flush deeply. “I may have been…unclear about what kind of friend Alfeo is.”

“It’s all right,” Lovegood told him with a smile. “I figured he was someone very important to you.”

Draco frowned, he hadn’t caught that at all.

To Alfeo she stepped forward and extended her hand. “Luna Lovegood, pleased to meet you.”

He gave her a shy smile before shaking her hand. Once he let go of her hand, he pulled out his wand and cast a spell in Italian.

“Sorry,” he apologized. “But my English is weak, so I have to use a translator spell.”

Draco was about to open his mouth to tell him to cut talking and start moving when Fabio spoke up.

“As much as I wish I could join you all, I’m afraid I have business elsewhere,” He announced, looking at Alfeo sadly. “Be careful.”

Alfeo nodded and Fabio turned and disappeared into the shadows. Turning to face him and Lovegood, Alfeo pursed his lips.

“The bank is not far from the drop point, and if we take the back roads, we should be all right,” he said, trying to look what Draco could only assume as brave.

“Drop point?” Draco questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“Right there,” Alfeo pointed to the canal next to them. “You jump in while thinking _porta_ and you’ll be granted entry to the _Metropolitana_.”

Draco glanced around him, there seemed to be no one in the vicinity. Before he could think of a single thought more, Lovegood dashed past him and jumped into the murky waters.

“Lovegood!” he called out in spite of himself. Her head did not reemerge.

“Do you want to go next?” Alfeo asked.

Not bothering to answer, Draco took a step back before running towards the water. In the few moments where he was suspended in the air, he closed his eyes tightly and thought over and over again _porta_.

“Draco,” Lovegood’s voice interrupted his focused mantra. “You can open your eyes now.”

Draco opened his eyes to find himself in the most peculiar place he had ever seen. The sky, if it could be called that, was all water, and the edge of the town was encircled by giant roaring waterfalls. Light was provided by enchantments that hung above them like bright stars, and a bustling market stretched out in front of him.

Afleo had joined them by now, and he came up to stand next to him.

“Look,” he said, pointing to one of the enormous waterfalls. “A ship is coming in.”

Lovegood looked incredulously happy as the waterfall parted and a ship slowly came down its slope.

“What a lovely place!” Lovegood exclaimed. “I can’t imagine how powerful the magic that’s running this place is!”

“It is something…” Draco agreed quietly, still trying to take in everything.

Alfeo gave them a tight smile. “I will give you two a proper tour after…business is taken care of.”

Right. Mission.

Taking Alfeo’s right flank while Loveood took his left, Draco frowned, “Can’t you use a disillusionment charm, or a notice-me-not?”

“I wish,” Alfeo sighed. “But once you come down here, deceitful magic is blocked.”

“And you didn’t find this important to tell us earlier?” Draco nearly shouted, beyond irritated with the small blonde.

“We’re just exposing ourselves by just standing here,” Lovegood pointed out, breaking up Draco’s next rant. “We should start moving.”

Alfeo nodded grimly. “Follow me.”

Turns out the ‘Underground’ was more than just a Port, it was a hot trading spot. As Alfeo took them through various cobblestoned roads, they passed by numerous tents housing items to be bartered, sold, and bought for. Stepping around a huge parcel that was charmed to float next to a nearby stall, Draco looked around and found that no one had been trailing them since their arrival.

_“Trail seems clear so far_ ,” Draco said to Lovegood in Legillimens.

_“I think so too, we should-“_

Lovegood’s next comment was cut off by an older woman stepping forward and grabbing Luna by the arm.

Speaking in Italian, the old trader cooed to Lovegood something about how her neck was too bare and held up a simple silver chain that had a mermaid charm hanging from it.

“No maiden can drown while wearing this necklace,” the ancient looking woman said in English. Beckoning Lovegood closer she went on, “Feel it! She has been passed down my family for centuries! Each woman that wore it died a natural death at an old age!”

Alfeo leaned in towards Draco and said in a low voice. “It would drive away any suspicions if someone saw us purchasing jewelry.”

Agreeing with his logic, Draco stepped forward and put a hand on Lovegood’s shoulder, who was looking at the necklace rather closely, which Draco took meant she liked it.

“How much?” Draco asked in gruff Italian.

The next five minutes were spent with Alfeo and the merchant woman haggling over the price while he and Lovegood kept a close eye on their surroundings.

Finally, Alfeo made a grunt of satisfaction and pulled out the proper amount of money from his pocket.

“Oh!” Lovegood exclaimed softly as he walked around her to hang the necklace from her neck. “That’s very kind of you, but I could have paid for it myself!”

Draco found himself ticked too, _he_ had wanted to buy the necklace.

“Actually, our scowling friend here paid for it, I just pickpocketed him a while back,” Alfeo explained with a chuckle.

Bewildered, Draco checked his pockets to find that they were empty.

“Why you little-“

“Relax,” Alfeo tossed back Draco his wallet. “I just wanted to see if you two really are who you claimed to be. I wasn’t surprised to see you weren’t smiling in your ID.”

“I see now why you and Fabio are so close,” Draco hissed scathingly. At least he was the one who paid for the damn necklace in the end.

_“Thank you for the necklace, Draco,”_ Lovegood spoke in his mind. _“I’ve been rather afraid of drowning lately, so this is quite a timely gift_.”

Still keeping a watchful eye around them, Draco asked back, _“You’re afraid of drowning?_ ”

_“Not in water,_ ” she answered cryptically. Draco decided not to push it, Merlin knew what kind of long winded and nonsensical answer she’d probably give him. Still, he was curious what Lovegood was afraid of, and made a note to ask her about it later.

“We’re here,” Alfeo announced. “I’ll be out quickly!”

As he scuttled inside quickly, Draco could help but sag his shoulders in relief. They had successfully managed to avoid any confrontations. Now all they had to do was deliver the money and then finally, _finally_ get the information they needed.

“Draco,” Lovegood murmured softly next to him. “Is it just me, or is that parrot looking rather closely at us?”

Following her line of gaze, Draco found that indeed the brightly colored bird _was_ staring at them.

“So?” Draco snorted. “It’s just a bloody animal.”

“Does this look like a bank to you?” she asked suddenly, and Draco frowned at her sudden shift in questions.

“What are you getting on about?” he asked sharply, a feeling of dread beginning to pool in his stomach.

Before she could reply, however, the parrot Lovegood had pointed out earlier squawked loudly and began flying in circles above their head, before dipping low and transforming into a man who looked straight out of a Muggle’s tale about Pirates.

Not saying anything to them, the man took out his wand and tapped the ground, and with a large groaning noise, the two buildings next to the bank and one across from it rearranged their position to effectively box them in.

“Come on out boys,” the Pirate Man called. Almost immediately, the doors of each building flung open, and various men dressed in scraggly sailor uniforms flooded out.

Fuck.

“That was rather unkind,” Lovegood said to Alfeo, who stood primly behind the pirate man.

Alfeo frowned. “And you’re rather foolish! Perhaps more so than Fabio.”

“Silence!” Pirate man called out, revealing a set of wooden teeth.

“So,” Pirate man said slowly. “Aurors? I imagine your Ministry will pay a rather handsome ransom to get you back.”

“Please sir!” Draco begged, falling to his knees, “Spare us!”

Pirate man looked at him with open disgust. “Afleo, are you sure he’s an Auror? I’ve never seen a more pathetic man in my life.”

“Yes sir!” Alfeo answered quickly. “I saw his ID, he’s a second-class Auror! The girl is his partner!”

“Yes, we’re second-class!” Lovegood exclaimed. “Meaning the Ministry could care less about us! I implore you, Sir, let my partner and I go!”

Pirate man laughed, before waving two men towards them. “Bind them, they’ll put up no fight.”

While on his knees, Draco had been carefully pumping his magic into the ground beneath him, intricately directing it underneath where the men stood in a circle around them. It was tricky, but if given enough time, he could channel the array precisely, so when he called out the spell, his effective target would be expanded to the new diameter he had set.

Luckily, Lovegood was his partner, and if it there was one thing she knew how to do, it was how to distract someone.

“Capturing us will bring you great danger, Draco here is infected terribly with Wrackspurts, you can see that clearly!”

The men that had been approaching them paused and looked at each other in confusion.  Draco kept his head bowed in his pretend groveling and rolled his eyes.

“Wrackspurts?” Pirate Man asked. “What the fuck is that?”

“This,” Draco answered, climbing to his feet and pulling his wand out. “Reductio!”

He and Lovegood were blown towards each other as the force of an explosions resounded all around them. Crashing into her painfully, Draco helped her up and saw that many of the men were injured quite seriously, but there were still a few who had only sustained minor burns, including Pirate Man.

“Move!” Draco shouted, pushing Lovegood towards one of the houses. They needed cover if this fight was to be fair.

Narrowly missing a curse as he slammed the door behind him, Draco began putting up protective wards as Lovegood ran upstairs. A moment later he heard her shouting spells at the men down below.

Once he was satisfied the house was impossible to enter, Draco bounded up the stairs and joined Lovegood at the window.

“Stupefy!” he shouted, and growled when Pirate Man jumped out of the way.

“I have an idea,” Lovegood told him breathlessly. Stepping away from the window, she closed her eyes in deep concentration as Draco continued to fire spells down below.

“Expecto Patronum,” Lovegood whispered, and from the tip of her wand a silvery bunny formed. Twitching its nose, the bunny waited for instructions from Lovegood.

“Confuse them,” was all she said.

Draco watched as the bunny hopped out of the window, and its effect was immediate- the men had never seen anything like it, which didn’t surprise Draco; only inherently good people could cast corporeal patronesses, and Draco doubted any of the pirates below them had ever met someone like that.

Confusing the bunny as an offensive spell, the men crowded together in a circle, completely at a loss as their every curse and jinx simply blew through the bunny.

Had it not been a life or death situation, Draco would have found the sight of several grown men afraid of a bunny hilarious.

“They’re all in one spot!” Draco told Lovegood hurriedly, watching as the bunny continued to encircle the men, effectively trapping them. “Now!”

Together, they pointed their wands at the circle of men and shouted, “Stupefy!”

They all collapsed.

Breathing heavily, Draco slowly lowered his wand arm, and wiped the back of his sweaty forehead with his other hand.

Lovegood too was breathless, but she recovered quicker than Draco.

“Maybe we can get something out of them,” she said, as she turned and walked out of the small bedroom. Draco quickly followed her.

Outside, it smelled of burnt human flesh and vomit. Thank Merlin this wasn’t Britain, or they would have been tasked with cleaning this mess.

Stepping over the unconscious men, Lovegood went on to tie them up with her wand, while Draco pulled Pirate Man out of the heap.

Squirting water out of the tip of his wand onto his face, Draco watched as he slowly returned to consciousness. Pirate Man was afraid.

Good.

“You have two options here,” Draco said easily. “Either you comply with me, and I just leave you here for the Italian Wizarding Law Enforcement to grab you, or you put up a fight, and I make you wish for death.”

“I-I will comply!” he stuttered, tremoring with fear.

“A week ago, a large batch of magically tampered narcotics was shipped from here, who was behind that?” he interrogated, fisting the man’s vest in his hand and pulling him closer menacingly.

“A man named Andrew Fetacillio!” he answered quickly.

“And…” his eyes glazed over, and Draco shook him impatiently, now was not the time for him to fall unconscious again.

“And who?” Draco barked, itching to slap the man into a more wakeful state. The man blinked, seeming to come out of his trance.

“The Sanctus…” he whispered.

Draco’s blood went cold.

Lovegood suddenly came up from behind him and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Tie him up Draco, the Italian Aurors have arrived. Our work here is done.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the lovely Pevita :) Without them I would have surely given up on this story. Hope you enjoyed, friend!
> 
> This was a rather action filled chapter but I promise next chapter will have some juicy Druna ;) That being said, there was a reason why I nearly dropped this story. I felt horribly insecure about my writing in this piece, and kept thinking 'I shouldn't have done this' or 'I should have done that'. Then I realized that the only way to get better at writing is to KEEP writing, so I thank all of you who stick with my in this journey of becoming a better writer. I hope each chapter is better than the last! :)

**Author's Note:**

> I promised a multi-chapter Auror fic and I delivered! I'm really enjoying writing this, and I hope you guys enjoy reading it just as much!


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